by our College Data Analytics TeamWith all of the options you have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our Top Oregon Colleges ranking is part of that endeavor.
We analyzed 29 colleges and universities across Oregon to determine which were the best in terms of overall quality. To come up with this ranking, we look at more than 20 factors that are all objective measurements. These factors include freshman retention, graduation rate, student-to-faculty ratio, and post graduate earnings, among other things.
Since one ranking on its own is not enough to give you a complete understanding of your educational options, you can refine this list by location and field of study. We've also developed a number of other tools and rankings based on other factors. These other rankings highlight colleges that excel in other factors such as value or diversity as well as schools that excel in serving different groups of students such as veterans or returnings adults.
You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering!
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our 2025 rankings named University of Oregon the best school in Oregon in terms of overall quality for students working on their bachelor’s degree.
With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from UO go into careers with an average salary of $61,324 during the early years of their career.
The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Oregon State University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools in Oregon.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $64,010 during the early years of their career..
Out of the 29 schools in Oregon that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Portland landed the #3 spot on the list.
Since the school has a student-to-faculty rate of 9 to 1, those pursuing a bachelor’s degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from University of Portland is $82,804 during the early years of their career.
A rank of #4 on our Best Colleges in Oregon list means Portland Community College is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Portland Community College is $44,592 during the early years of their career.
A rank of #5 on our Best Colleges in Oregon list means Portland State University is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree.
The student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1% Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Portland State University go into careers with an average salary of $57,906 during the early years of their career.
Pacific University did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Oregon ranking, coming in at #6.
Since the school has a student-to-faculty rate of 9 to 1, those pursuing a bachelor’s degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Pacific is $60,583 during the early years of their career.
Western Oregon University landed the #7 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Oregon ranking.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Western Oregon State College is $51,815 during the early years of their career.
Oregon Institute of Technology landed the #8 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Oregon ranking.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from OIT make an average of $72,273 per year during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #9, George Fox University did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Oregon list.
During the early years of their career, graduates from GFU make an average of $59,761 a year.
Lewis & Clark College landed the #10 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Oregon ranking.
With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. During the early years of their career, graduates from Lewis and Clark College make an average of $62,205 a year.
Chemeketa Community College ranked #11 on this year’s Best Colleges in Oregon list.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $40,968 during the early years of their career..
Mt. Hood Community College landed the #12 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Oregon ranking.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $41,125 during the early years of their career..
Lane Community College came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Oregon ranking.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Lane Community College make an average of $38,075 a year.
Corban University ranked #14 on this year’s Best Colleges in Oregon list.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Corban make an average of $48,917 a year.
With a ranking of #15, Southwestern Oregon Community College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Oregon list.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from SWOCC make an average of $38,349 per year during the early years of their career.
Linfield University - McMinnville Campus ranked #16 on this year’s Best Colleges in Oregon list.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Linfield go into careers with an average salary of $78,638 during the early years of their career.
Read full report on Linfield University - McMinnville Campus
Umpqua Community College landed the #17 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Oregon ranking.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Umpqua Community College make an average of $36,676 per year during the early years of their career.
Willamette University came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Oregon ranking.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Willamette make an average of $56,911 a year.
Blue Mountain Community College did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Oregon ranking, coming in at #19.
During the early years of their career, graduates from BMCC make an average of $38,375 a year.
Rogue Community College came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Oregon ranking.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Rogue Community College go into careers with an average salary of $36,845 during the early years of their career.
Reed College did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Oregon ranking, coming in at #21.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $62,927 during the early years of their career..
Southern Oregon University did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Oregon ranking, coming in at #22.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Southern Oregon University is $49,175 during the early years of their career.
Eastern Oregon University did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Oregon ranking, coming in at #23.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from EOU is $50,112 during the early years of their career.
Central Oregon Community College came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Oregon ranking.
During the early years of their career, graduates from COCC make an average of $38,940 a year.
Bushnell University came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Oregon ranking.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Bushnell University go into careers with an average salary of $53,623 during the early years of their career.
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Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.